KC and The Sunshine Band join Musikfest line-up in Bethlehem

Much to the surprise of some of popular music’s staunchest critics, KC and the Sunshine Band have stood the test of time. Merging funk, R&B, disco and Latin sounds, the band recorded some of some of pop music’s biggest hits. KC and the Sunshine Band’s contribution to music has, without question, played a pivotal role in the evolution of modern music. “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” “That’s The Way I Like It,” “I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Keep It Comin’ Love,” “Get Down Tonight,” “Please Don’t Go” and “Give It Up” remain an important part of the global musical fabric. Forty years after giving birth to KC and The Sunshine band in Miami, Florida, Harry Wayne Casey, aka KC, is still going strong. The band sells out concerts all over the world in front of fans that never grow tired of their infectious dance beat and simplistic message. The show is full of high energy,” said K.C. “The entire band participates in the show. It’s meant for people to come out and have a good time and forget whatever is going on in our lives, including mine. It’s an hour and a half of forgetting what happened that day and having a good time. The honors are great,” added K.C. “But my happiest moments are when I get up there and actually feel the crowd and know my music connects with the people that are in front of us at that live show, and I get to see the joy that my music has brought everybody.” In 1975, following moderate recording success with a couple of charting singles including the George McCrae hit “Rock Your Baby,” KC and the sunshine Band released their self-titled triple platinum album. The album’s singles “Get Down Tonight” and “That’s The Way I Like It” (the latter reaching number one) made the band superstars.

Their follow-up album “Part 3” (1976) peaked at number two on the strength of the singles “I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Keep It Comin’ Love” and “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty.”

The band’s last charting album was the platinum “Do You Wanna Go Party” (1979), featuring the number one hit single “Please Don’t Go.”

KC & The Sunshine Band became the first act to secure four number one pop singles in one twelve month period since the Beatles first earned that distinction in 1964. KC himself won a songwriting Grammy in 1976 for best R&B song “Where Is The Love” and a Grammy for both Album of the Year and Producer of the Year for his work on the classic “Saturday Night Fever” film soundtrack. “The ’70s were the last time that you were going to hear real musicians play the instruments,” remembers K.C. “I knew that there was a digital age that was coming about and things were going to become more technical through the different sounds that were being created. The ’70s were definitely that last period of real music for everybody. Our songs were songs about love - that’s what they’re really about. For years, people tried to tear them apart. I don’t think they were songs that were any different than what Lennon and McCartney wrote or anyone else.” KC and the Sunshine Band are currently working on a new release around their concert touring. “We did a new album about a year and a half ago,” said KC. “It has turned into two records. There are 17 original songs and 17 classic songs from the ’60s. We’re doing such a wide variety of songs on the album. The songs I selected are ones that reflect where my life is now and where my life has gone in the past 62 years.” “I set out to create a type of music that brought an energy to life, and I think that’s what my music does,” said KC. “What you hear in the music is what my influences were. I’ve always liked all different types of music. When I created the music I went for different types and different feels. That’s why some are a little more Latin and some are a little more popish. I think you hear all of that in the stuff that I do. We definitely changed the sound in music. To this day, it’s still a very strong force. Even though ‘they’ve’ tried to dismiss it over the last 40 years, it has never gone away.”

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KC and the Sunshine Band with special guest The Family Stone, perform at Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza - Steel Stacks Campus at 7 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 8. ArtsQuest, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, PA 18015. Tickets: $32 to $42 (plus $9 per ticket Service/Venue fee and $1.50 City Amusement tax). For more information or to order tickets, call 610-332-1300 or visit www.musikfest.org.